CHAPTER VI. ON THE ORTHOGRAPHY OF NATIVE NAMES,-GENERAL STATISTICS, GEOGRAPHICAL, REVENUE AND AGRICULTURAL REPORTS. ONE of the most difficult subjects with which Europeans in this country have to deal, is the intelligible conversion of the vernacular into the English character, and it will be readily admitted, that Surveyors of all persons must be the most interested and concerned in following such a good system, that any person knowing the original and the substituted character, should be able to convert the one into the other without difficulty, and that the names of places so romanized on the geographical maps of the country should be at once recognizable and familiar to the ear. In a work like this, it may be expected that some fixed rules should be laid down for the guidance of the department, but any fixed system, is easier to propose, than to find followers for. As regards spelling, some people are quite incorrigible, we shall endeavour however to place on record the prevailing methods heretofore existing in the great Trigonometrical as well as Revenue Surveys, together with such remarks on other systems as appear to be called for. Sir Wm. Jones's method is at once elegant and phonical, and has found complete acceptance with learned and scientific men, it is therefore, with some slight modification, in use in the Great Trigonometrical Survey of India. The rules followed in this department are very simple and may be thus stated: Rules for the ortho graphy of native names. sound, as in Sir Wm. Jones's rule; no others to be used. 2nd. The semi-vowels to be used only as consonants, such as Yin Yaholi. 3rd. All consonants have their ordinary sound, but express the harsh sound of C by K and the soft sound by S whereby C, as an independent letter, becomes expunged. 4th. Express the soft sound of G universally by J, reserving the former of these letters in all cases to denote the harsh sound only. 5th. Dispense with the reduplication of consonants, as much as possible, because long words are an evil on maps. 6th. Drop superfluous letters of all kinds, wherever they are so weak as to make it a matter of doubt whether they ought to be pronounced or not. Example Hydrabad, Sikandrabad, &c. wherein some persons introduce a short vowel between the d and r, and others do not. 7th. The old established orthography of historical names should not be interfered with, as they have become settled and familiar by long use, and it would be pedantic and presumptuous to alter them, and the same idea would not be conveyed. Thus write Meerut not Mirat, Hydrabad not Haiderabad, or Huederabad (according to Gilchrist,) Beder, not Bidar, Calcutta not Kalkata, Captain not Kaptan, Cawnpoor not Kánpúr, Allahabad, &c. 8th. Double consonants should never be used when single ones will answer, thus Ph instead of F is not advisable, as in Filaor not Phillore, neither Ch instead of K, although there is Italian authority for the latter. This method is doubtless a phonical one, well adapted for general use, and scientific men will not agree to any deviation from Sir Wm. Jones; but, however learned Surveyors may be, the persons into whose hands their maps fall, may be very ignorant Englishmen, and it is extremely doubt ful whether such a mode of pronunciation is intelligible to people of ordinary capacity and common sense ideas. The difference between the foreign and English sound of the vowels u and i, is most likely to lead to confusion with strangers, and to prevent all possible mistakes the oo should stand for the Italian u, and ee for the Italian i, retaining the latter for diphthongs only-such a compromise would certainly enable the generality of people to pronounce better.* 66 * In addition to this, there is Dr. Duff's modification of the Jones's system as now established and finally approved of by the Committee of the Calcutta Bible Society as laid down in a pamphlet on the " Progress and Present State of the Romanizing System." After a most careful investigation, the following romanized Urdu Alphabet was agreed upon and introduced with these remarks. "The Committee of the Bible Society having thus furnished the most decisive proof of its earnest desire to consult the wishes and yield the utmost possible "deference to the conscientious opinions of individual Missionaries through“out the country, it is fondly to be hoped that the standard of romanizing now fixed by the majority will be gladly hailed, embraced, and practically exemplified by all. It is fondly to be hoped that for the sake of that gene"ral uniformity which is so truly desirable and so absolutely indispensible to full success, every one will be cheerfully disposed to sacrifice any little partiality or peculiarity of opinion, which may be the offspring of isolated or in"dividual minds." 66 66 66 The Hindustani Alphabet in the Roman Character. A B Bh P Ph T Th T Th S J Jh Ch Chh H Kh HA j jh ch chh h kh ." N ༧N Ꮓ Z T Z In the Revenue Survey Department, Gilchrist's method has generally been employed, although no definite rules appear to have been laid down on this important subject. Like any other system whatever, if rigidly carried out it is intelligible enough to those who have learned and practised it, but it has never found acceptance with the learned or scientific. It looks ugly and adopts all the bad pronunciation of English. No other nation, but the English, ever give u the short sound of but. This is a fundamental assumption of Gilchrist's, and ruins the whole of his system, the chief merit of which is, the undeviating tenacity with which he adheres to it under all difficulties. In the directions for Settlement Officers, promulgated under the authority of the Hon'ble the Lieutenant Governor NorthWestern Provinces, there is another alphabet proposed to be used in the conversion of names from the languages of the country into English. Transposing from one language to another by this method is easy, and it is particularly well adapted for the services, and having gained some footing, and being recognised by all the Settlement and other Revenue Officers, the Surveyors who have to follow their steps, and depend on their enquiries, are obliged in a great measure to resort to the same phraseology, and hence the more scientific, but more difficult system of Jones, has never been followed by this branch of the Survey of India. The following is the alphabet exemplified: Alphabet proposed to be used in the conversion of names from the languages of the Country into English. |